There’s the travel, the fame, the money. You really are playing a game for a living.

But like any job, it does have its drawbacks.

Take the bubble players — the guys who really don’t know whether they will be in the lineup from game to game. They walk a line between ecstasy and frustration, always wanting to do more and often wondering what they haven’t done right.

And honestly, it’s a tough place to live.

“It’s not an easy situation, but it’s reality at this level,” Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said. “They have to respond when they get a chance — that’s just the way it is.”

Gulutzan on Tuesday sat down rookies Jamie Oleksiak and Antoine Roussel after each had played in five straight games. He inserted Ryan Garbutt and Philip Larsen, younger veterans who had been in and out of the lineup. Garbutt responded with a great game, getting a goal and going plus-2 in a 4-1 win over Edmonton. Larsen struggled.

So Wednesday, when the Stars played the Calgary Flames, Larsen came out of the lineup and Garbutt stayed in. Gulutzan returned Oleksiak and Roussel to the ice, but took out Larsen and forward Tomas Vincour. It’s a game of musical chairs played at a very high-dollar level.

“We are going to put the lineup on the ice that we feel gives us the best chance to win, so anything you can do when you’re out there to convince us to keep you in is going to make a difference,” Gulutzan said. “Ryan Garbutt did that. He gave us a great game.”

Garbutt, a 27-year-old forward out of Brown University, had to fight a hard climb to reach the NHL. He made it last season, playing 20 games with the Stars and earning a one-way contract. He has played 10 of the team’s first 13 games, but he’s aware of how close he is to the bubble.

“I was really motivated [against Edmonton]. It was a chance to show what I could do, and I was definitely fresh,” Garbutt said. “But you try to do that every day, whether you’re playing or not. If you sit out and come back in, you feel a little more nervous, a little more excited. It’s definitely something that comes with the job. You can’t have any excuses.”

And that’s good for the team. It’s similar to the competition that the organization has set up between backup goaltenders Richard Bachman and Cristopher Nilstorp, and the competition that has been set up at the bottom of the roster, where you could be in the NHL one day or the AHL the next.

In the past, the Stars often had a roster full of “one-way” contracts, meaning players probably weren’t going to the minors. This season, they have the ability to send any number of players back and forth.

It makes for a large carrot for the coaches to dangle.

“It is different this year,” Gulutzan said. “That’s good for us here, that’s good down there. It just really electrifies guys. When they know there’s a real chance to play in the NHL that is always hanging out there, it’s a great motivator.”

And it’s something they have to come to grips with in their mind.

“It’s part of the sport,” said defenseman Aaron Rome, who has had to earn a consistent spot in the lineup. “They brought you in for a reason, so you just have to be confident that you can do the job. If you start pushing too hard, that’s when I think you make the mistakes.”

And there’s also another way to handle sitting on the bubble, Rome said.

“I think one of the great things about hockey is you really do bond, and you really do start playing for your teammates,” he said. “So you put the team’s needs before your individual needs, and you just make sure you’re always ready to go. I really do see that as doing it for your teammates, and it makes it a lot easier.”

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